Three Things Everyone Needs Every Day

Maybe. But there are thee essential things that every single person on the planet, from their first breath to their last, is in constant search of whether they know it or not.

The mind is searching for something. The heart is searching for something. And the soul is searching for something. The way a stomach craves food, or a tank requires fuel.

The mind is in constant search for comfort. This could be loosely translated into money since money buys comfort. After all, we work harder so we can be comfier. From birth you want soft blankets, warm arms, comfy clothes. As we grow older we want the comfort of an unbreakable parental unit, a stable home, an alarm system for our house, safe schools, etc. We also are in search of the comfort of leisure once those basic things are procured. For instance, I love the comfort of my books, others want to know they’re coming home to their DVD collections or their trendy clothes to put on for their weekend outing. Comfort comes in all shapes and sizes, and no matter who we are, we can’t rest until we have it.

The heart is in constant search for love, or acceptance. (Do I hear a “Duhhh”?) But from birth we need love, eye contact, physical touch, smiles, and laughs. You can rent the first romantic comedy that comes to mind and it’s instantly clear that everyone is in search of love. Even the cold business tycoons need some form of love, even though many may not admit it or know it.

And lastly, the soul is in search of probably the most important and lasting element of all. Forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a second, or third, or fourth chance. Forgiveness is life. Forgiveness is vital.

Forgiveness is cradled between the desire of the heart and the desire of the mind. Forgiveness is spawned by love and gives birth to a specific, lasting comfort.

When my baby cries at night, my wife and I get out of bed for her because of love, we provide comfort for her because we know she needs it, and it’s an unspoken forgiveness of her disrupting our sleep that allows us to continue to love and comfort.

We all have done things we wish we could forget. Every single one of us would gladly pay big money to hop in a time machine and erase certain events in our lives. We all have a cluttered closet that we keep padlocked and dead-bolted, lest anyone breaks in.

But the thing is, you don’t need a time machine or a padlock to hide the past. We need what the souls desires: Forgiveness. And while our friends and family may offer it to us, and they can forget our transgressions to a degree, true and binding forgiveness can come from one person alone.

And He can also forget our past sins from one end of the infinite universe to the other. If we are confident in our place as God’s adopted child, and we’ve asked forgiveness for our sins, and we gave him the key to our locked storerooms of mistakes and bad choices, He would look in and not find bones or files with red marks.

Share this:

Like this:

Related

About adoptingjamesMy lovely wife and I are foster parents, dog owners, and home owners. I am a blogger, book editor, and author.
On my blog you'll read about adoption, book recommendations, inspirational thoughts, and a whole lotta Disney/Pixar lovin'!
For updates on my upcoming books, join my author page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewToyAuthor

12 Responses to Three Things Everyone Needs Every Day

I think forgiveness is hardest when the other person won’t acknowledge that something hurtful occurred–so much so that it just keeps happening. Not like a baby, who doesn’t have a concept of “mom and dad need to sleep for work in the morning” but a fellow adult whose moral compass is just so much different.
But I guess if forgiveness was always easy and natural, we wouldn’t need reminders like these…

I do see that comfort is an important thing. When my family gets home in the evenings I can see that the children are glad to be there in a place that offers security and comfort for them. And I know that all children do not have what they have, but I am thankful that with God’s help my husband and I are able to provide it for them.

I enjoyed your post. I like your style of writing :)
I wanted to relay that Desmond Tutu is starting a forgiveness challenge on May 4th: The Tutu Global Forgiveness Challenge. More information can be found at http://www.forgivenesschallenge.com for any of your followers who may be interested

I have many things in my past that require forgiveness; I have some locked doors. Some things were stupid, some were wrong. I do my best not to dwell on them, because I have no intention of ever doing them again, but call them up into my operating memory (and then say a little prayer for forgiveness) and use them do the best that I can today.

Forgiveness allows us to feel better when we have done something wrong, it is a reconnection to acceptance and feeling loved. Spiritually, however, I feel it isn’t so much as forgiveness from a deity we seek, but a forgiveness of ourselves. Whatever spiritual burdens we carry of guilt are our own doing, we can either forgive ourselves or redeem through our actions (which then allow us to forgive our mistakes).